The point is to induce drool, which really should be the point of this whole thread IMO.

I could really use some of this right now though

Some of these pics have made me hungry, this one made me thirsty (that's about 75% too much of each of those items for my taste.)

Every time I eat ikura, I think of:

its probably too much ikura but no way is it too much Uni.

is it just me, or does anyone else like other robatayaki and other izakaya foods better than sushi? granted, I love good, fresh sashimi as much as the next guy, but I really love the small plate bar food stuff.
maybe it's an exposure thing (I'm japanese, so I'm assuming I've been exposed to more japanese food types than most here) or maybe I'm just wired differently than other people here, but things like:

gyutan (grilled beef tongue)
tebayaki (salted, grilled chicken wings)
ikageso (fried or grilled squid legs)
various yakitori (especially chicken skin, hearts and gizzards)
buta kakuni (stewed pork)
Hiyayako (cold tofu, usually with ginger, scallions, shaved bonito and soy sauce)
agedashi (fried tofu)
kanpachi kama (grilled amberjack collar)

are much more interesting to me than sushi (although I'll eat the hell out of a plate of good fish)

Most people in the US have not had phenomenal Japanese food thats not Sushi. There just aren't that many awesome izakayas, robatayaki places outside very major cities.

Buta kakuni is the bomb, yo. Yakitori is almost always good. Something I've not seen here, but had in Japan is takoyaki...they'll chop up octopus and fry it into round fritters. Octoballs.

There's probably places in SF that I don't know about, but I had okonomiyaki for the first time on my last trip to Japan. Great interactive fun!

OT,
check out Kisaku on 4th in San Mateo for a pretty extensive menu of parts and other small plates goodness. their sashimi is usually fresh and good, but i think they offer sushi just because it's expected at a japanese joint.
also, yuzu on 37th in san mateo is pretty good, although they're more of a sushi place.

I was trying to remember if I've been to Kisaku, but I think we went to Himawari...all I remember is, my wife, my brother-in-law (the bottomless pit) and I had a little too much to eat at a Japanese place downtown. It was definitely ramen-centric, but they had a lot of small plates on the menu.

That looks good. I would replace the Ikura with more Uni.

I feel like heading to a fish store and picking up a tray of uni.

I think there's a new place on Homestead between Kiely and San Tomas that has takoyaki. I know I saw the ads for all kinds of skewers and stuff I remember seeing in one of Bourdain's show and the reminded me of them. It's right next to Stan's Donuts.

The o-toro was actually too fatty for my tastes, imo

How much and where?

for da rest of u around san mateo county, there is a cool oriental market:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/suruki-super...anese%20market

when I make homemade, I go here.

It is in my blog, I forgot the price, like $110 for all you can eat?
http://imavrean.blogspot.com/2008/04/sashimi-meal.html

oh yeah I remember that link, amazing pictures

suruki is a good market. decent fish. the real steal there, though is the whole cow's tongue (in the freezer along the left side of the market) that they'll slice for you however you want it. got one in my freezer right now, and I pull some out every time I bbq.

suruki's tuna is better, but I prefer nijiya on el camino for most other japanese shopping. much better meat selection and a wide range of fish in from japan. (the tai is usually pretty fresh).

Kisaku isn't really ramen centric...was it on 2nd? Izakaya Mai serves ramen and is known for their small plate stuff. good stuff there and the sushi chef kicks down free stuff sometimes (he found out my family is from the same town he's from one night and started sending over stuff to try). good place, but I prefer kisaku, for some reason. Kisaku's on 4th next to radio shack.

I went to a made-to-order AYCE place today. I have a hard time believing that the high end places other posters speak of really serve fish that is that much higher in quality than the place I go to.

Nice menu selection, good chefs, fresh fish. They have a Sunday happy hour special for $16.95. My lunch order today was:

Apps:
Teriyaki Beef
Shrimp Tempura
Creamy Mermaid

Sushi:
8 pcs of Tuna
6 pcs of Salmon
2 pcs of Yellowtail
1 Dru James Roll

Dessert:

Moo chi ice cream

Hell of a deal after the tip. It's such a good spot, but I've never dropped $200 on a sushi meal before. If any of you high-enders are in Vegas and want to meet me for lunch one day, I'll pick up the tab just to get your impression of my little strip mall joint.

Pictures of the AYCE joint?

This thread would be great with more pictures.

I'll take some next time, which won't be too long from now.

dude. anyone else have anymore recommendations for sushi eating in Japan? I'm going to tokyo next week for the sole purpose of eating sushi. I was hesitant about leaving korea until another 2p2er told me about eating super fresh sushi in tsukiji @ 7am. Seeing stuff like this makes me drooolll

fk that looks good.

Uni is such an amazing piece of sushi. So much flavor to it and it literally melts in your mouth. It's kind of like oysters guys, don't get it from ****ty joints. An acquired taste I guess.

I'm not really a roll guy. If the sushi joint isn't that great, then I'll get rolls. Otherwise, NIGIRI for me! Start off w/Tuna, then I get some amaebi, yellowtail, salmon, uni, toro and from there I go with how much room I got left :P I like stuff like tamago and mackerel but I never order them. I feel like if I'm going to pay for tamago or mackerel, I should get another awesome piece of yellowtail or whatnot.

Unagi - I loved it as a kid and still do...I just love raw fish too much to order it : /

I think Octopus is the only sushi I really don't bother with at all.

I think the Japanese food I've had in Japan (not Japanese restaurants in America) are rather bland, and after a while I start to crave something else. Their food is fresh and light, but not exactly hearty or full of taste/spices. Izakaya food is good of course, but it's nothing that a lot of random American joints can't top. I don't rank Japanese cuisine very high up there at all, especially compared to the other Asian countries which definitely have much richer and more flavorful dishes.

Yeah, if you want intense flavours, Japanese food is probably not your best bet. Like southern Chinese food, they are big on bringing out the taste of their ingredients, as opposed to adding flavour by sauces or reductions. For example many people love Thai food but I find it too salty or sweet.

Garcia, I really like how you write your blog posts

Philly roll
OMG roll
Nuff said